英语基础阶段测试题.pdf

1 Section I Use of English Directions: Read the following text. Choose the best word (s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on the ANSWER SHEET. (20 points) Millions of dollars often depend on the choice of which commercial to use in launching a new product. So you show the commercials to a 1 of typical consumers and ask their opinion. The answers you get can sometimes lead you into a big 2 . Respondents may lie just to be polite. Now some companies and major advertising 3 have been hiring voice detectives who test your normal voice and then record you on tape 4 commenting on a product. A computer analyzes the degree and direction of change 5 normal. One kind of divergence of pitch means the subject 6 . Another kind means he was really enthusiastic. In a testing of two commercials 7 children, they were, vocally, about equally 8 of both, but the computer reported their emotional 9 in the two was totally different. Most major commercials are sent for testing to theaters 10 with various electronic measuring devices. People regarded as 11 are brought in off the street. Viewers can push buttons to 12 whether they are interested or bored. Newspaper and magazine groups became intensely interested in testing their ads for a product 13 TV ads for the same product. They were interested because the main 14 of evidence shows that people 15 a lot more mental activity when they read 16 when they sit in front of the TV set. TV began to be 17 “a low-involvement” 18 . It is contended that low involvement means that there is less 19 that the ad message will be 20 . 1. A pack B flock C multiple D bulk 2. A loss B panic C benefit D surprise 3. A hosts B advocates C agencies D opponents 4. A as B if C though D while 5. A toward B into C from D to 6. A aggravated B lied C boasted D misunderstood 7. A with B about C on D of 8. A conforming B agreeing C conceiving D approving 9. A involvement B response C reflection D mood 10. A fed B supplied C provided D equipped 11. A independent B ordinary C typical D average 12. A demonstrate B designate C debate D indicate 13. A as with B against C as to D under 2 14. A number B series C body D proportion 15. A exhibit B extend C expand D exert 16. A or B than C and D versus 17. A regarded B labeled C assumed D recognized 18. A means B method C medium D measure 19. A opportunity B scope C chance D capacity 20. A rejected B reviewed C revived D remembered Section II Reading Comprehension Directions: Each of the passages below is followed by some questions. For each question four answers are given. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each of the questions. Put your choice on the ANSWER SHEET. (60 points) Text 1 In a democratic society citizens are encouraged to form their own opinions on candidates for public office, taxes, constitutional amendments, environmental concerns, foreign policy, and other issues. The opinions held by any population are shaped and manipulated by several factors: individual circumstances, the mass media, special interest groups, and opinion leaders. Wealthy people tend to think differently on social issues from poor people. Factory workers probably do not share the same views as white collar, nonunion workers. Women employed outside their homes sometimes have perspectives different from those of full time homemakers. In these and other ways individual status shapes ones view of current events. The mass media, especially television, are powerful influences on the way people think and act. Government officials note how mail from the public tends to “follow the headlines”. Whatever is featured in newspapers and magazines and on television attracts enough attention that people begin to inform themselves and to express opinions. The mass media have also created larger audiences for government and a wider range of public issues than before. Prior to television and the national editions of newspapers, issues and candidates tended to remain localized. In Great Britain and West Germany, for example, elections to the national legislatures were usually viewed by voters as local contests. Todays elections are seen as struggles between party leaders and programs. In the United States radio and television have been beneficial to the presidency. Since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his “fireside chats”, presidents have appealed directly to a national audience over the heads of Congress to advocate their programs. Special groups spend vast sums annually trying to influence public opinion. Public utilities, for instance, tried 3 to sway public opinion in favor of nuclear power plants. Opposed to them were citizens organizations that lobbied to halt the use of nuclear power. During the 1960s the American Medical Association conducted an unsuccessful advertising campaign designed to prevent the passage of Medicare. Opinion leaders are usually such prominent public figures as politicians, show business personalities, and celebrity athletes. The opinions of these individuals, whether informed and intelligent or not, carry weight with some segments of the population. Some individuals, such as Nobel prizewinners, are suddenly thrust into public view by the media. By quickly reaching a large audience, their views gain a hearing and are perhaps influential in shaping views on complex issues. 21. The second paragraph is mainly about the influence of A gender on peoples view B peoples status on their view C living standard on peoples view D different ranks on peoples view 22. The expression “follow the headlines” (Line 2, Para. 3) shows A people often get their opinions from newspapers or television B people think the headlines contain the most important information C people seldom have time to read newspaper articles D most people look on newspapers or TV as misleading 23. Which of the following suggests the role of TV in the shaping of public opinion? A TV programs have a strong influence on governmental policy. B Chats on televisions are chief means for running for presidency. C More and more people show interest in politics because of TV. D Before the use of TV, people showed little interest in politics. 24. It is obvious that the opinions of famous people . A is often ignored by the public B is seldom expressed to the point C is often imposed on the public D has a strong influence on people 25. According to the passage, which of the following is true? A The viewpoints of people in different circumstances are totally different. B The mass media is the most important means that influences peoples opinions. C Some interest groups sometimes are not on the behalf of common people. D The views of the public are influenced by famous public figures because their opinions are more reasonable. Text 2 For the generation that grew up during the feminist revolution and the rapid social change of the 1960s and 1970s, it at first seemed achievement enough just to “make it” in a mans world. But coupled with their ambition, 4 todays women have developed a fierce determination to find new options for being both parent and professional without sacrificing too much to either role or burning themselves out beyond redemption. Women have done all of the accommodating in terms of time, energy and personal sacrifice that is humanly possible, and still they have not reached true integration in the workplace. For a complicated set of reasons many beyond their controlthey feel conflict between their careers and their children. All but a rare few quickly dispel the myth that superwoman ever existed. For many women, profession and family are pitted against one another on a high-stakes collision of their professions. In the home, men and women struggle to figure out how dual-career marriages should work. Role conflict for women reaches far beyond the fundamental work/family dilemma to encompass a whole constellation of fiercely competing priorities. Women today find themselves in an intense battle with a society that cannot let go of a narrowly defined work ethic that is supported by a family structure that has not existed for decades. The unspoken assumption persists that there is still a woman at home to raise the children and manage the household. But the economic reality is that most people, whether in two-parent or single-parent families, need to work throughout their adult lives. As a consequence, the majority of todays mothers are in the labor market. The first full-fledged generation of women in the professions did not talk about their overbooked agenda or the toll it took on them and their families. They knew that their position in the office was shaky at best. With virtually no choice in the matter, they bought into the traditional notion of success in the workplaceusually attained at the high cost of giving up an involved family life. If they suffered self-doubt or frustration about how hollow professional success felt without complementary rewards from the home, they blamed themselveseither for expecting too much or for doing too little. And they asked themselves questions that held no easy answers: Am I expecting too much? Is it me? Am I alone in this dilemma? Do other women truly have it all? Until now, this has been a private dilemma, unshared, as each woman was left to forge her own unique solution to merging her dual loyalties to work and family. Too often she felt that alone had failed to achieve a comfortable balance between the two. 26. According to the passage, todays women . A want to achieve a balance between her loyalties to work and family B are stronger advocates of gender equality than the older generation C do not want to sacrifice anything at all for the desired liberation D are getting no nearer to achieving their ambition 27. The myth held by some “superwomen” is that they can . A reconcile their careers with parental responsibilities. B devote themselves to their career without regard for their children C resist the temptation of their ambition to make great achievements 5 D resolve the conflicts between their careers and children without any sacrifice 28. In what way do women today find themselves in an intense battle with the society? A The society regards women as less able to perform social tasks. B Women do too much about their career and too little about their families. C The society still holds the traditional image about a family. D Women no longer regard the family as a basic unit of the society. 29. When women fail to achieve a balance between work and children, they . A let things go their own courses B admit that they are not superwomen C usually choose to give up their work D often blame themselves for it 30. The authors attitude towards womens dilemma seems to be one of A sympathy B indifference C irony D suspicion Text 3 One of the earliest changes experienced by newly modernizing countries is the reduction of infectious disease through the diffusion of public health technology. Public health technology lowers the death rate, especially among infants and children, causing rapid population growth. Since most of the people of less developed nations live in rural areas that cannot absorb the increased population, unemployment presses people off the land. They tend to migrate into urban areas where newly developing industry and commerce and modern consumer goods and services offer hope for employment and a better life. Unfortunately, the opportunities are more apparent than real; and often the transition is more painful than pleasant. In the course of the transition from agrarian life to modern urban living, the family undergoes major changes in function, structure, relations, and style. Functionally, the family changes from a production unit to a consumption unit. No longer is there need for a large multi-worker household to operate the familys farm interests, and the extended family household changes to the one containing only a core nuclear family. In the city children become economic liabilities rather than economic assets, and eventually families have fewer of them. Wives lose their functions as producers and maintainers of the labor force and become free to pursue extra household activities. The modern economy forces work outside the home away from kinfolk. Not the father but also the mother is forced into the marketplace or factory to obtain enough money for the family to survive in a pecuniary economy. Without the extended family household, no one remains at home to supervise children, so they are left on their own. They may be sent into the streets to earn money. Daily life becomes filled with more secondary than primary relations. There is an erosion of family control over individual members. Scarce urban housing forces overcrowding in both dwelling and neighborhood. Dense structures with common halls, stairways, and utilities cause more intensive contact with neighbors than in rural villages. Loss of 6 rural courtyards, oven rooms, and large family areas drives group activities such as cooking, eating, and sitting into small rooms or city streets. More positively, household furnishings change as families are able to acquire the high-status accoutrements of modern living such as kerosene burners for cooking （replacing dung cakes） and beds (instead of mats). 31. The spread of public health technology . A lowered the birthrate B decreased infectious disease C created more employment opportunities D eradicated the infectious disease 32. By “wives lose their functions as producers and maintainers of the labor force”, the author means that . A many women are no longer able to join the labor force B many women become too weak to work C many women refuse to have children D the major job for women is no longer to give birth to and bring up children 33. The first sentence of Paragraph 3, “The modern economy forces work outside the home away from kinfolk” means that . A the forces of modern economy operate beyond the influence of the family B the forces of modern economy are going out of the family C modern economy forces work to go out of the family D modern economy forces work which is outside the home to move away from family members 34. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage? A In todays city life, nobody is willing to stay home to supervise children. B Todays city family has very weak control over its members. C Extended families from the countryside survive only in mutual activities. D All immigrants from abroad need help from relatives to become independent. 35. According to the author, it is good that . A neighbors in cities have more intensive contact with one another than rural people. B group activities such as cooking, eating, and sitting take place in small rooms or city streets C families are able to acquire the high-status accoutrements of modern living D there is a cultural lag in the U.S. Text 4 Before a big exam, a sound nights sleep will do you more good than poring over textbooks. That, at least, is the folk wisdom. And science, in the form of behavioral psychology, supports that wisdom. But such behavioral studies cannot distinguish between two competing theories of why sleep is good for the memory. One says that 7 sleep is when permanent memories form. The other says that they are actually formed during the day, but then “edited” at night, to flush away what is superfluous. To tell the difference, it is necessary to look into the brain of a sleeping person, and that is hard. But after a decade of painstaking work, a team led by Pierre Maquet at Liege University in Belgium has managed to do it. The particular stage of sleep in which the Belgian group is interested in is rapid eye movement(REM) sleep, when brain and body are active, heart rate and blood pressure increase, the eyes move back and forth behind the eyelids as if watching a movie, and brainwave traces resemble those of wakefulness. It is during this period of sleep that people are most likely to relive events of the previous day in dreams. Dr. Maquet used an electronic device called PET to study the brains of people as they practiced a task during the day, and as they slept during the following night. The task required them to press a button as fast as possible, in response to a light coming on in one of six positions. As they learnt how to do this, their response times got faster. What they did not know was that the appearance of the lights sometimes followed a patternwhat is referred to as “artificial grammar”. Yet the reductions in response time showed that they learnt faster when the pattern was present than when there was not. What is more, those with more to learn (i.e., the “grammar”, as well as the mechanical task of pushing the button) have more active brains. The “editing” theory would not predict that, since the number of irrelevant stimuli would be the same in each case. And to eliminate any doubts that the experimental subjects were learning as opposed to unlearning, their response times when they woke up were even quicker than when they went to sleep. The team, therefore, concluded that the nerve connections involved in memory are reinforced through reactivation during REM sleep, particularly if the brain detects an inherent structure in the material being learnt. So now, on the eve of that crucial test, maths students can sleep soundly in the knowledge th